Between Dreams and Reality
by Mrs Carly Corinthos
Summary: What if everything we knew about Tree Hill was all a dream, that existed only in the mind of Dan Scott, locked away in a mental institution for the last 3 years and in reality, nothing was how he imagined it?


**Title:** Between Dreams and Reality  
**Couples:** Naley, Brucas, Jeyton, Kan, Keith/Deb, Callie/Chris, Taylor/Cooper  
**Rating:** T  
**Summary:** What if everything we knew about Tree Hill was all a dream, that existed only in the mind of Dan Scott, locked away in a mental institution for the last 3 years and in reality, nothing was how he imagined it? And when he finally has a break through, how will he adjust to knowing that none of Tree Hill was the way he imagined it and everything was a lie and in reality, things were completely different? Okay so this takes place after season 3, or at least in Dan's mind it's after Season 3. In reality, he's married to Karen and their children are Lucas, Nathan, Jake and their baby, Callie. Jake's the oldest, at 20, he helps to care of his younger siblings and is dating Peyton. Jenny does not exist. Lucas and Nathan are twins and 17, Lucas being the older one, he's dating Brooke and Nathan's dating Haley. Lastly is the baby, Callie, who's 16 and dating Chris, who is not a jerk. Callie is a daddy's girl and out of all the kids, has probably had the hardest time since Dan's been locked away. Cooper, Karen's brother, also lives with them ever since Dan got sent to the mental institution, and he's been the kids father figure for the last 3 years. Then there's Keith and Deb Sawyer, Keith is in no way related to Dan and Deb never married him or even dated him, they were all just best friends. Their kids are Taylor, the oldest at 22, followed by Peyton at 20, Chris at 19 and the twins Brooke and Haley (the baby) at 17. Taylor and Cooper are engaged and planning to marry in the fall. Karen and Deb own their cafe, K&D Cafe, Keith and Cooper run the dealership together. And now Dan will be entering the world again, how will everyone deal and how will he when the world he knows doesn't exist?

**Chapter One**

He awoke to a white room with padded walls. Where the hell was he? Last thing he remembered was falling into bed at the beach house and now, what the hell was he doing here.

He was on the floor, crouched up in a ball, what was he doing on the floor and why in sam's hell was he wearing these ugly clothes glancing down to find himself in gray. What was going on here?

"Honey, can you hear me?"

Karen. He would know that voice anywhere, Karen, his childhood sweetheart, the mother of his oldest son Lucas, the love of his life that got away. What was she doing here? And why was she calling him honey? This was all so confusing.

Then he glanced up at the ceiling and the windows, which were padded and it was then that he realized where he was.

No, this isn't happening. I'm not crazy. I am mayor of Tree Hill and I can't be in here. This is wrong. He thought frantically.

"He can hear you, he's coming back, keep talking to him, your voice, will bring him fully around." A man's voice said, that sounded somewhat familar.

"Danny?"

That was all he needed to hear. Danny, his childhood nickname and the term used by Karen, when she was affectionate with him, when she loved him, when they were happy. He normally didn't like it, but hearing her say it, was all he needed to break through.

He blinked and for the first time noticed that he was not alone, there were several male nurses around, holding syringes, dressed in white, ready to act, the doctor, Doctor Greene, who he had remembered seeing before and lastly there was Karen, beautiful Karen, kneeling before him, and a hopeful/concerned look on her face.

"Karen?" He said with a frightened, hopeful voice. He had no idea what was going on, but she was here, she was concerned about him and that's all that mattered.

She sighed with relief before taking his hand.

"Yeah honey, it's me." She had tears in her eyes, and all he wanted to do was reach out and hug her and hold her close and never let her go.

If he was in the mental ward, that had to mean that he had been caught as Keith's murderer. But then why was Karen looking at him with love and concern and not like she wanted to murder him.

"Dan, I'll like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind Karen."

He looked up to see Doctor Tristan Greene looking at him, dressed in white, with a clip board and pen in hand, ready to take notes.

"Of course." Karen says. She kissed him on the cheek. "Just answer the questions, the way you know how Dan, do the best you can. I love you."

She loved him? Now this really was weird. How could she love someone that killed her fiancee and the father of her baby? How could she love someone that caused her so much hurt. This was way too weird.

But his thoughts were interupted when Tristan started talking.

"Do you know who that is?" Pointing to Karen.

"Of course. That's Karen Roe. Mother of my first born son, Lucas Scott, my highschool sweetheart and my ex-girlfriend."

Karen sighed, tears threatening to spill out again.

"No Danny, that's not my name."

He looked at her. What was she talking about? Of course that's her name.

"It is your name Karen. You never got married, so your name is Karen Roe."

"No Danny. Roe is my maiden name. I'm Karen Roe Scott, your wife."

He looked at her, his wife. No way, no, she couldn't be. She was crazy. They were not married.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm your wife Danny. We got married after we graduated from high school, we have been married for 21 years."

No it wasn't true, what the hell was going on, this can't be happening. He was married to Deb Lee, they had one child Nathan, there was no way he was married to Karen.

Tristan says,"Do you know where you are Dan?"

"The psych ward." He responded.

"And why are you here?"

"Because I killed my brother Keith Scott." He confesed.

He was seriously beginning to get annoyed at their behavior, especially Karen's. Calling him her husband, he had good reason to kill Keith. Keith stole his life and he wanted to get revenge, so he killed Keith and framed Jimmy for it.

"Dan, you didn't kill anyone." Tristan told him point blank. "None of that is real, you've been in the mental institution, for the past 3 years."

Dan shook his head. "No it's not true. I killed Keith, I framed Jimmy."

"It is true Danny." Karen's voice broke through. "You didn't kill Keith, he's alive and so is Jimmy. In fact, Jimmy is still best friends with Lucas and Keith is still alive. He still lives in town."

"But how?"

"It's all in your head Danny, everything you imagined, that's not how it is in real life. You've been here for the past 3 years, you grew mentally unstable, I had to lock you in here, as much as I didn't want too." Karen paused. "You've been sick Dan, for a long time. But everyone misses you, the kids, Keith, Deb and Whitey."

"Deb? How is she? And Keith? My brother?"

"They are fine, still happily married and the parents of 5. Taylor, Peyton, Chris, Brooke and Haley."

Wait what? My brother married my wife? What the hell kind of twisted world is this?

"My older brother married my wife?"

"Danny, no. Keith is not your brother and Deb was never your wife. You and I have always been married. You're an only child. Royal and Mae wanted more children, but they found our they couldn't have anymore, you were it. Keith's last name is Sawyer. It's all just a part of your fantasy world."

"But..."

"The kids and I, we miss you so much, we love you, we want you to come home."

"The kids..." Dan replied. "Lucas and Nathan?"

Something flicked in Karen's eyes, something he couldn't recongize. "They are fine, I promise, but Jake and Callie miss you too."

"Jake? He's not my son Karen. He has a different last name. He's just Lucas' best friend and he's the father of Jenny."

"No Danny, that's a part of your allusion. Jake is our son, he's our oldest. There is no Jenny. He's 20 and goes to school at Tree Hill Community College."

She didn't add on that Jake, had gotten into Duke, but chosen to stay close at home, to help his mom, while his dad was here.

"Who's Callie?"

Karen looked up in surprise, tears in her eyes.

"What? Karen, I'm sorry did I say something wrong?"

"Callie is our daughter Dan, she's our baby. Her full name is Carmilla Isabella Scott, she goes by Callie, and you call her Baby Gurl. She's 16. She's your princess Dan. You spoiled her rotten and she had you wrapped around your little finger. She's the only one of our kids, that still calls you daddy. She is your baby. And you love her. Does that ring any bells?"

"I don't understand."

"Dan, please try to remember, you have too. You have to get well."

Dan looked at her and he would give anything in the world to remember.

"I'll try. Tell me more about our kids, Jake, Lucas, Nathan and Callie."

"Jake, I already told you everything, he's dating Peyton Sawyer and they are very much in love. Lucas and Nathan are great. Our twins. They are both 17 and like their father, love basketball. They are the stars of the Tree Hill Ravens. Lucas is dating Brooke Sawyer and Nathan is dating Haley Sawyer. It's kind of funny, because our twins are dating Deb and Keith's twins." She pauses a smile on her lips.

"Callie, our baby is 16. She's a cheerleader and popular. She's extremely outgoing and friendly. Everyone loves her. She loves ice skating, horse back riding and singing. She also loves acting and like her brothers and her daddy she loves basketball. She loves shopping too. She's a real girly girl and best friends with Brooke, Peyton and Haley. She's dating Chris Sawyer. And yes, I do admit, I was a bit worried about that match, because he's 19 and she's 16, but they love each other and she's happy."

Dan was trying to process everything, it was nice to see that some things in Tree Hill didn't change.

"I know this is hard for you Dan. Most of the stuff, you will find out is not real, it's make believe and only exists in your mind, not just events or family, but relationships and details." Tristan said.

"What's wrong with me?" He asked. He had too know, why he was here and why he couldn't remember anything that happened.

"A little over three years ago, you started to have hallucinations," Tristan explained. "You experienced paranoia and began to believe things had happened that never happened. You were diagnosed with an undifferentiated type of schizophrenia. Then three years ago, it got to the point, where you were mentally unstable, you had to be locked up for your own good."

"But what about the house and the kids? With me being here for three years?"

Karen looked at Dan.

"Jake helped, he gave up a lot to stay close to home and help raise Lucas, Nathan and Callie. And Cooper, moved in with me, to help me out too and be father figure to the kids. He also helps run the business with Keith. Plus I had Keith, Deb and Whitey, they helped with your business and the cafe, to keep things running smoothly. And Whitey was there for our boys and Callie, if they ever needed to talk to him about anything."

"Cooper? But he's not related to you? He's Deb's brother."

"Dan, Cooper is the kids' uncle. He's my brother. Deb is an only child, she doesn't have any siblings."

"You mean like that?" Dan asks.

"Yes, that is what I mean, that exists in your head, it's not real life." Tristan responded.

"Your mind has created an elaborate and complex history to support your delusions, down to the most minuscule detail. Even though you've only been sick for three years, you've concocted several years worth of events as a backstory for what you perceived to be reality. Your mind dreamed up things that never really happened to pull you deeper into the psychoses."

"I've been in here 3 years? Have I ever been like this?" Dan said.

"You've had moments, but they were far and in between, this is the only time you've been alert, responding to questions and coherent."

"So I might relapse?"

"No, it shouldn't be a problem. Around the time you believed you killed Keith, we began to administer several different experimental drugs into your system that were designed to help your mind begin to deconstruct the delusions, hence the muder of Keith and Jimmy in the delusions. Until recently, we hadn't found the right combination of drugs to keep you fully lucid, but now that we have, you should be able to recover."

"That means you can come home Danny, back to our kids and to me." Karen said, tears again in her eyes.

Dan looked at Tristan, to confirm what Karen told him.

Tristan nodded.

"It's true, as long as continue to take your medication, we will be able to release you, you can live a normal life again, Dan. The way you used to be, before this happened."

"And we can be a family again Dan. You, me, Jake, Lucas, Nathan and Callie. We will be a family again, like we used to be. Before all of this."

"The kids? Were they confused with what happened? When I came in here?"

"Jake, Lucas and Nathan understood. It was for the best, Callie's taken it the hardest, becaus she was your baby, you guys were extremely close, closer than you were to our boys, you loved her. She didn't understand, she just wanted you to be at home. But slowly, she's started to see it was for the best, we had to and now she accepts it. She will be so happy to know that you are getting well and you can come home soon. She really missed you."

"I wish I could remember her."

"You will Danny, it will happen, you just have to have faith. I'll wait for you forever if I have too. You're my husband, I love you. Jake, Lucas, Nathan and Callie, they all love you too, all we want is for you to get well and come home, we need you."

Looking at Karen and then at Tristan. He made his decision.

"I want to go home. I want to remember. I want to get well. What do I have to do?"

Karen squeezed his hand and smiled. He smiled back.


End file.
